What you may not realize, however, is that those photos are far more than just helpful references for you, the viewer. Google’s software analyzes what’s in those photos. Its image-recognition software can read the text on street signs, storefront signs, hotel names and so on. It can tell a major road from a minor one, a single-lane road from multilane and one-way streets from two-way streets. Street View, in other words, generates still more useful data for Google’s maps.

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Making calls is now the fifth most-used function on smartphones - after the web, Facebook, games and music


Mobile phones started life as machines built for talking - but actually making calls is now one of their least popular functions.

Smartphone owners now spend just 12 minutes talking on their phones a day - but spend two hours using the gizmos.

Texting - formerly one of the reasons people became addicted to phones - is now less popular, with users spending just 10 minutes sending messages.

In terms of time spent, British users spend more time surfing the internet, checking social networking sites, playing games and listening to music.

The study of 2,000 smart phone users marking the launch of the Samsung found we spend almost 25 minutes a day surfing the internet.

Mobile phone users also spend a further 17 minutes checking and updating social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

In comparison, just 12 minutes is spent actually talking to someone on a phone call, while sending text messages accounts for only ten minutes of use a day.

David Johnson, General Manager Devices for O2 in the UK, which commissioned the research, said: ‘Smartphones are now being used like a digital ‘Swiss Army Knife’, replacing possessions like watches, cameras, books and even laptops.

IF PEOPLE AREN'T MAKING CALLS, WHAT ARE THEY DOING ON THEIR PHONES? HOW WE SPEND OUR TIME

1.Browsing the internet

24.49 minutes

2. Checking social networking sites

17.29 minutes

3. Playing games

14.26 minutes

4. Listening to music

15.38 minutes

5. Making calls

12.08 minutes

6. Emails 11.06 minutes

7. Text messaging

10.12 minutes

8. Watching TV/films

9.23 minutes

9. Reading books

9.18 minutes

10.Taking photographs

3.25 minutes


‘While we’re seeing no let-up in the number of calls customers make or the amount of time they spend speaking on their phones, their phone now plays a far greater role in all aspects of their lives.

‘Smart technology has improved in dramatically with the camera, diary, email and social media hardware and apps where design attention has been lavished.

‘Now that it’s so easy to use, there’s no surprise that consumers are switching to phones for these functions.’

Researchers also found for many the smartphone is replacing other possessions including alarm clocks, watches, cameras, diaries and even laptops and TVs as they become more intuitive and easier to use for things ‘beyond calls’.

More than half - 54% - now use their phones in place of an alarm clock, while 46 per cent have dispensed with a watch in favour of their smart phone.

39% per cent have switched to use their phone instead of a separate camera and more than a quarter even use their phone in place of a laptop.

One in ten have even replaced their games console with their phone, while six per cent use it as a TV.

Another six per cent have stopped reading books in favour of viewing the text on their phones.

Recently there’s been rumblings that Google will release up to five Nexus devices this holiday season, but some have openly wondered if Google will even release one. The number of Nexus rumors is surprisingly low for this time of year, so we reached out to several of our old friends to see if they could help us out. Read on for the latest rumors surrounding Google’s next Nexus.

The Rumor

Google will unveil their next Nexus phone within the “next 30 days”. The device has “already leaked” in blogs and it will include a new version of Android. However, the next version of Android will be a Jellybean point release and not the major upgrade to Android 5.0 that some had speculated.

The Sources

This rumor comes from three different industry sources that I spoke with over the last month. They have provided reliable information in the past and I find them to be trustworthy. As with most of these rumor reports, the sources wish to remain anonymous.

One Android Insider’s take on the rumor

WARNING: Before anyone has a cow, please keep in mind these are only rumors. Nothing is final until it is final. Sometimes the information given to me is correct and sometimes it is not. I get hundreds of rumors sent to me every month, but I only give the full rumor report treatment to the ones that I believe to be true.

Let the countdown begin. If you plan to buy a new Android phone before the end of the year, then you better hold onto your wallet for at least the next month. While we can’t confirm all of the product details, we are certain that Google will release a new version of Android this year and they will have a new flagship Nexus smartphone.

I find it interesting that our sources told us the big announcement was coming soon, so I am going to assume that Andy Rubin will reveal the next Nexus phone at AllThingsD: Dive Into Mobile on October 29-30. This is the same conference that he revealed Android 3.0 on the Xoom in 2010, and he always seems to have big news when he sits down to talk with Walt Mossberg.


Andy Rubin talking to Walt Mossberg at All Things D conference.
Even though Google could reveal the next Nexus smartphone in the month of October, it might not go on sale until November. We expect this next Nexus to be an unlocked GSM device, so it should go on sale sooner rather than later. Last year the Verizon Galaxy Nexus was launched several months after Google had hoped for, but we won’t have to worry about carrier delays this time around.

It is also pretty noteworthy that our sources said the identity and manufacturer of the next Nexus smartphone had already leaked out. There has been a lot of chatter over who would make the next Nexus, but most of the signals are still pointing at LG. We were already told that the LG Optimus G would be the base of a Nexus device, and other reports are slowly starting to come in.


The LG Optimus G with stock Android photoshopped in.
We really thought that the next Android release would be 5.0, so I was a little surprised to hear that the next Nexus will feature a point release. Google did this before when they announced Honeycomb Android 3.1 at Google IO 2011, so it wouldn’t be the first time it has happened. We have already spotted Android 4.2 in our recent server logs, so it’s possible that is the version of Android that we will see on this next Nexus device.


Someone is testing Android 4.2.
Even though this will be a point release, we still expect there will be several new exclusive features. We are working on a big post to detail all the possible new features, but recent rumors suggest we will see multi-user logins, enhanced Maps, enhanced dialer, enhanced camera features, and native support for wireless display standards like Miracast.

Finally to wrap things up, we have not heard any credible information about other new Nexus devices. We definitely believe there will be a flagship Nexus smartphone for this new Android point release, but there could be additional devices on the way. Possible Nexus devices that have been rumored include a refreshed-entry-level Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 with 3G modem, and Nexus 10 tablet.

If we dig up any additional details, we will surely update this post. Please contact us if you have something to share.